Olof Palme 1927-1986
Kjell Östberg
Kjell Östberg’s biography about Olof Palme paints a bright picture of its main character and also of Swedish society.
The book charts the main events of Palme’s life: his early life, time spent in university, military service, work for the international student association and his rise in the Social democratic party.
Obviously Palme had an advantage in the fact that he was born into one of the powerful families of Sweden. Even though Palme was well connected, and any lesser man would have only used these to advance in life, Palme worked hard all his life. He read voraciously, he was an avid writer and speech giver, and he followed closely what was happening around him in Sweden and outside in the wider world.
Among many things from which OP is remembered he is best remembered from his opposition to the Vietnam was and his work for the developing world. It was interesting to learn that during the Vietnam war Palme advised Swedish generals to maintain contact with the U.S. military. It would have been bad policy to break contacts completely.
The book is an impressive work on one the most intriguing politicians of the 20th century. It also gives a good overview of the issues that had centre stage in Swedish politics during Palme’s time.
When Palme was the PM and struggling with numerous problems at the same time, he is reported saying: “One hell at a time.”
keskiviikko 28. heinäkuuta 2010
perjantai 16. heinäkuuta 2010
Falling off the Edge
Alex Perry, Falling off the Edge.
Falling off the Edge tells the story how globalization does not bring happiness and wellbeing to everyone on this planet.
For Alex Perry it is important that globalization is reported from the ‘frontline’. He finds it strange that most journalists are quite happy to write about India, China and Africa from nice offices in London and New York. This is not the way to do it. Perry argues that Western journalists should get out more and experience how it feel to live somewhere without running water and five star hotels.
“The gulf between East and West is perhaps never more neatly summed up than by their opposing attitudes to rare wildlife. ‘There’s only a few left’ implied a duty to preserve in the West. In Shenzhen’s restaurants, it meant get them while they’re hot.”
“Politics. It’s a natural next step for a gangster.” Brij, a successful gangster in Bombay.
The examples of globalizations impact that Perry uses are familiar to anyone who regularly reads Time, Newsweek and other similar magazines. But it is always good to refresh ones memory.
The book ended in an interesting discussion if war might be good for the world. Or not.
Falling off the Edge tells the story how globalization does not bring happiness and wellbeing to everyone on this planet.
For Alex Perry it is important that globalization is reported from the ‘frontline’. He finds it strange that most journalists are quite happy to write about India, China and Africa from nice offices in London and New York. This is not the way to do it. Perry argues that Western journalists should get out more and experience how it feel to live somewhere without running water and five star hotels.
“The gulf between East and West is perhaps never more neatly summed up than by their opposing attitudes to rare wildlife. ‘There’s only a few left’ implied a duty to preserve in the West. In Shenzhen’s restaurants, it meant get them while they’re hot.”
“Politics. It’s a natural next step for a gangster.” Brij, a successful gangster in Bombay.
The examples of globalizations impact that Perry uses are familiar to anyone who regularly reads Time, Newsweek and other similar magazines. But it is always good to refresh ones memory.
The book ended in an interesting discussion if war might be good for the world. Or not.
tiistai 6. heinäkuuta 2010
Ben Elton books
High Society
Funny and sad story about British society where drugs are everywhere and how they destroy people’s lives and an MP’s career.
Among the characters are a rock star who fuels his life with alcohol and drugs; a girl who is caught smuggling drugs from Thailand; another girl who sells herself for drugs; and an MP who is trying to get all drugs legal.
In the book politicians talk about drugs as if they are great authorities on the subject. They use words like ‘smack’ and ‘crackwhore’ like they know what they are talking about. Just as politicians talk about unemployment and poverty as if they have actual experience what it’s like to live with a limited budget.
Coming back to the suggestion of Mr Paget it would be interesting to see what would happen if drugs were legalised. What if they were taxed by the government like tobacco and alcohol are?
Meltdown
The book is about the financial crisis and how it affects people’s lives. There is a banker who makes an obscene amount of money; another banker who buys a whole street in London and starts to renovate the buildings only to get into deep trouble because he loses his job; and other people who are affected by the crisis in different ways.
All in all an entertaining story with some nice dialogue, for example:
“A crack whore and her pimp are the perfect business model. No, I’m serious, capitalism in its purest form. The free market operating as it should. Supply and demand. Goods and services. Management and labour. I fail to see a moral dilemma. For fuck’s sake, let them get on with it.”
“You know what?” said Jimmy. “Screw the Big Happy Baby Book. That book is fiction! It’s written by a childless fantasist. I have shown Cressida a hundred turds! I’ve cooed over them, pinned medals on them, placed them back in the potty on velvet cushions and stuck her on top of them and the little bitch still prefers to shit on the floor. All right?!”
“Mrs Thatcher was a goddess and Unions the spawn of satan.”
Funny and sad story about British society where drugs are everywhere and how they destroy people’s lives and an MP’s career.
Among the characters are a rock star who fuels his life with alcohol and drugs; a girl who is caught smuggling drugs from Thailand; another girl who sells herself for drugs; and an MP who is trying to get all drugs legal.
In the book politicians talk about drugs as if they are great authorities on the subject. They use words like ‘smack’ and ‘crackwhore’ like they know what they are talking about. Just as politicians talk about unemployment and poverty as if they have actual experience what it’s like to live with a limited budget.
Coming back to the suggestion of Mr Paget it would be interesting to see what would happen if drugs were legalised. What if they were taxed by the government like tobacco and alcohol are?
Meltdown
The book is about the financial crisis and how it affects people’s lives. There is a banker who makes an obscene amount of money; another banker who buys a whole street in London and starts to renovate the buildings only to get into deep trouble because he loses his job; and other people who are affected by the crisis in different ways.
All in all an entertaining story with some nice dialogue, for example:
“A crack whore and her pimp are the perfect business model. No, I’m serious, capitalism in its purest form. The free market operating as it should. Supply and demand. Goods and services. Management and labour. I fail to see a moral dilemma. For fuck’s sake, let them get on with it.”
“You know what?” said Jimmy. “Screw the Big Happy Baby Book. That book is fiction! It’s written by a childless fantasist. I have shown Cressida a hundred turds! I’ve cooed over them, pinned medals on them, placed them back in the potty on velvet cushions and stuck her on top of them and the little bitch still prefers to shit on the floor. All right?!”
“Mrs Thatcher was a goddess and Unions the spawn of satan.”
torstai 17. kesäkuuta 2010
Wanted - Armfelt
Yesterday I visited the National Museum of Finland. The purpose of the visit was to see the Armfelt exhibition.
The exhibition was well executed. There weren’t too many objects and just the right amount of text to read. Sometimes museums get carried away and there is too much to read and one gets exhausted by all the information. On other occasions there isn’t enough information and so one doesn’t have any idea what the object is and where it came from. However, this exhibition gave a good overview of Armfelt’s life.
And what a life it was! He managed to be the favourite of one Swedish king and accused of treason by another. When he was accused of treason he had to stay in exile and travel around Europe. Luckily he had friends with big castles in different parts of Europe so he had no problems in finding accommodation. I wonder if they had sofa beds back then. Last years of his life he served as the acting Governor-General of Finland. By this time (1812-1813) Finland was part of Russia.
The exhibition was well executed. There weren’t too many objects and just the right amount of text to read. Sometimes museums get carried away and there is too much to read and one gets exhausted by all the information. On other occasions there isn’t enough information and so one doesn’t have any idea what the object is and where it came from. However, this exhibition gave a good overview of Armfelt’s life.
And what a life it was! He managed to be the favourite of one Swedish king and accused of treason by another. When he was accused of treason he had to stay in exile and travel around Europe. Luckily he had friends with big castles in different parts of Europe so he had no problems in finding accommodation. I wonder if they had sofa beds back then. Last years of his life he served as the acting Governor-General of Finland. By this time (1812-1813) Finland was part of Russia.
Millennium
Millennium
by Tom Holland (2009)
Millennium is Tom Holland’s third non-fiction book. Like the previous two books this one is excellently written. If only school history books were written with similar flair.
Quite a lot happened around the year 1000. Saxons, Vikings, Saracens and others roamed Europe. Popes acquired more power. Life back then was violent and thus kings, nobility and peasants alike had a short lifespan. One could say that in those days social security was on the tip of one’s sword. Provided one was wealthy enough to own one. There is one nice example how people dealt with difficult situations in those days. A wife of a nobleman organised a revolt in a town that belong to her husband and also she had an affair. The response of the husband? He stormed the town and destroyed it. Then he captured his wife and burned her at the stake. All done swiftly and with style. Why indeed bother with divorce lawyers when one can use siege engines.
People back then had a way with words as the following quote demonstrates: ‘…despite their private scorning of Philagathos as ‘slime, the son of perdition, worthy of every curse, a pile of steaming excrement, obese, a man whose true god protrudes just below his wobbling paunch…’’ Nice. Then there was this one pope who was accused of enjoying pornographic floor shows…
All in all a good story about life a thousand years ago.
by Tom Holland (2009)
Millennium is Tom Holland’s third non-fiction book. Like the previous two books this one is excellently written. If only school history books were written with similar flair.
Quite a lot happened around the year 1000. Saxons, Vikings, Saracens and others roamed Europe. Popes acquired more power. Life back then was violent and thus kings, nobility and peasants alike had a short lifespan. One could say that in those days social security was on the tip of one’s sword. Provided one was wealthy enough to own one. There is one nice example how people dealt with difficult situations in those days. A wife of a nobleman organised a revolt in a town that belong to her husband and also she had an affair. The response of the husband? He stormed the town and destroyed it. Then he captured his wife and burned her at the stake. All done swiftly and with style. Why indeed bother with divorce lawyers when one can use siege engines.
People back then had a way with words as the following quote demonstrates: ‘…despite their private scorning of Philagathos as ‘slime, the son of perdition, worthy of every curse, a pile of steaming excrement, obese, a man whose true god protrudes just below his wobbling paunch…’’ Nice. Then there was this one pope who was accused of enjoying pornographic floor shows…
All in all a good story about life a thousand years ago.
maanantai 14. kesäkuuta 2010
Sunday Lunch
Sunday Lunch
by Nora Naish (1993)
An interesting story about an affair gone wrong and how people survived after the truth came out. The story is well written and the characters are interesting. Though the showdown between Amanda and Lizzie was somewhat brief.
Some observations:
When they tried to find a hospital bed for Wilf, James mentioned that hospitals are required to use their resources efficiently. Apparently this sort of thinking didn’t start in the 21st-century.
It seems that Nora Naish is in favour of the NHS. One of the old doctors had a long monologue about how in the old days only the men received medical care from doctors as they were the wage-earners of the family. But do people receive adequate medical attention today by the NHS?
Also it was pointed out how medicine has developed over the years. For example, James mentioned how before the war there were several infant deaths every winter in the village because antibiotics weren’t available.
Global warming was mentioned in passing.
“Welfare state what have we left undone as we move into the senility boom we can’t cope with…” So already in the early 1990’s there were too many old people for the society to handle in the UK. This topic is much discussed at the moment in Finland.
by Nora Naish (1993)
An interesting story about an affair gone wrong and how people survived after the truth came out. The story is well written and the characters are interesting. Though the showdown between Amanda and Lizzie was somewhat brief.
Some observations:
When they tried to find a hospital bed for Wilf, James mentioned that hospitals are required to use their resources efficiently. Apparently this sort of thinking didn’t start in the 21st-century.
It seems that Nora Naish is in favour of the NHS. One of the old doctors had a long monologue about how in the old days only the men received medical care from doctors as they were the wage-earners of the family. But do people receive adequate medical attention today by the NHS?
Also it was pointed out how medicine has developed over the years. For example, James mentioned how before the war there were several infant deaths every winter in the village because antibiotics weren’t available.
Global warming was mentioned in passing.
“Welfare state what have we left undone as we move into the senility boom we can’t cope with…” So already in the early 1990’s there were too many old people for the society to handle in the UK. This topic is much discussed at the moment in Finland.
lauantai 12. kesäkuuta 2010
Helsinki Day
The day began at the City Hall. The mayor of Helsinki, Jussi Pajunen was there to open the Helsinki Day. Free coffee and rhubarb pie was on offer. However, I got a corner piece and there were just few flakes of rhubarb. The beggar lady of Aleksanterinkatu, the one who with an outstretched arm says ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ was there too. She was wearing dirty clothes but at least the cafeteria people gave her several pieces of pie.
They gave out free books at the City Hall. I took the following books
Helsinki – Fille de la Baltique, Matti Klinge and Laura Kolbe.
Helsinki – Tochter der Ostsee.
Helsinki – Daughter of the Baltic.
Urban Guide Helsinki, Helsinki City Planning Department.
Finland – A Cultural Guide, Pirkko-Liisa Louhenjoki-Schulman and Kaius Hedenström.
I have the Klinge/Kolbe book already in Finnish but it’s good to have it in other languages as well.
I returned to the City Hall in the afternoon to listen to lectures and talks. While I was eating a homemade sandwich a little boy came near me and asked (in Finnish), looking very solemn, what am I eating. Bread, I said to the mite. When he heard my reply he started to smile mischievously, ran to his father who was nearby and said to him ‘he’s eating bread’. Spies are so young today.
Then I went to the Central Rescue Station. It was a bit difficult to take pictures because of the cramped space. However, it was bloody exciting to see fire engines!
Finally, there was the samba parade. For a moment there was a threat of rain but in the end there was sunshine which was nice because the performers had put a lot of time and effort on the show. I watched the whole show which lasted about an hour.
They gave out free books at the City Hall. I took the following books
Helsinki – Fille de la Baltique, Matti Klinge and Laura Kolbe.
Helsinki – Tochter der Ostsee.
Helsinki – Daughter of the Baltic.
Urban Guide Helsinki, Helsinki City Planning Department.
Finland – A Cultural Guide, Pirkko-Liisa Louhenjoki-Schulman and Kaius Hedenström.
I have the Klinge/Kolbe book already in Finnish but it’s good to have it in other languages as well.
I returned to the City Hall in the afternoon to listen to lectures and talks. While I was eating a homemade sandwich a little boy came near me and asked (in Finnish), looking very solemn, what am I eating. Bread, I said to the mite. When he heard my reply he started to smile mischievously, ran to his father who was nearby and said to him ‘he’s eating bread’. Spies are so young today.
Then I went to the Central Rescue Station. It was a bit difficult to take pictures because of the cramped space. However, it was bloody exciting to see fire engines!
Finally, there was the samba parade. For a moment there was a threat of rain but in the end there was sunshine which was nice because the performers had put a lot of time and effort on the show. I watched the whole show which lasted about an hour.
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